Lessons for Mathematical Problem

Solving
- LeMaPS
Geoff Wake and Malcolm Swan
Centre for Research in Mathematics Education
University of Nottingham, England

1
 Outline
• What do we mean by problem solving?
• What key processes are involved?
• How can Lesson Study contribute to improve the
teaching and learning of problem solving?
• What are the challenges involved?
• How can LeMaPS meet these challenges?
 What is a problem?

“ A problem is a task that the individual wants to achieve,

and for which he or she does not have access to a
straightforward means of solution.”
(Schoenfeld, 1985)

“ .... problems should relate both to the application of

mathematics to everyday situations within the pupils'
experience, and also to situations which are unfamiliar.”

(Cockcroft, 1982, para 249)

 Developing Mathematical Literacy…
“An individual’s capacity to formulate,
employ, and interpret mathematics in a
variety of contexts. It includes reasoning
mathematically and using mathematical
concepts, procedures, facts and tools to
describe, explain and predict phenomena.
It assists individuals to recognise the role that
mathematics plays in the world and to make
the well-founded judgments and decisions
needed by constructive, engaged and
reflective citizens.”

(PISA 2015 Mathematics Framework; OECD)

 Mathematical literacy (PISA, 2015)

Problem in Mathematical
Formulate
context problem

Employ
Evaluate

Results in Interpret Mathematical

context results

“The modelling cycle is a central aspect of the PISA conception of

students as active problem solvers”
 Formulating situations mathematically

Problem in Mathematical
Formulate
context problem

• Identifying significant variables, constraints;

• Simplifying a situation; making assumptions;
• Recognising structure in situations;
• Representing a situation mathematically, using words, symbols,
graphs;
• Making connections with known problems or
mathematical concepts, facts, or procedures

(PISA, 2015)
 Making reasonable estimates

There are about

60 million people
in the UK.

About how many

schoolteachers
are there?
 Formulating
Identifying significant variables and making assumptions
- Size of population p 60,000,000
- How long do you go to school t 12 years
- Average lifespan n 80 years
- Size of class c 25

Derive relationships and facts

- Fraction of population at school t÷n 1/7
- School population p (t ÷ n) 8,500,000
- Number of teachers p (t ÷ n) ÷ 25 340,000

9
 Employing concepts, facts, procedures and reasoning
• devising and implementing strategies;
• using mathematical tools, including
technology; Mathematical
• applying mathematical facts, rules, problem
algorithms, and structures;
• Creating and manipulating mathematical
diagrams, graphs, and constructions and Employ
extracting information from them;
• using and switching between
representations;
• making generalisations based on the
Mathematical
results;
results
• reflecting on mathematical arguments
and explaining and justifying results.

(PISA, 2015)
 Interpreting, applying and evaluating
• interpreting results back into the real world
context;
Problem in • evaluating the reasonableness of a mathematical
context solution in the context;
• explaining why a mathematical result or
conclusion does, or does not, make sense in the
context;
Evaluate • identifying and critiquing the limits of the model.

Results in Interpret Mathematical

context results

(PISA, 2012)
 The centrality of these processes in PISA
The definition of mathematical literacy refers to an individual’s
capacity to formulate, employ, and interpret mathematics.
Items in the 2015 PISA mathematics survey will be assigned to
one of three mathematical processes:
• Formulating situations mathematically;
• Employing mathematical concepts, facts, procedures, and
reasoning;
• Interpreting, applying and evaluating mathematical
outcomes.
It is important for both policy makers and those engaged more
closely in the day-to-day education of students to know how
effectively students are able to engage in each of these
processes.
 The New National Curriculum for England
“Mathematics is an interconnected
subject in which pupils need to be able to
move fluently between representations of
mathematical ideas.”
“The programmes of study are, by
necessity, organised into apparently distinct
domains, but pupils should make rich
connections across mathematical ideas to
develop:
• fluency,
• mathematical reasoning,
• competence in solving increasingly
sophisticated problems.
Solve problems in the NC
 Problem solving in the New National Curriculum
Formulate
– “begin to model situations mathematically and express the results
using a range of formal mathematical representations”
Employ
– “select appropriate concepts, methods and techniques to apply to
unfamiliar and non- routine problems.”
Interpret
– “develop their use of formal mathematical knowledge to interpret
and solve problems, including in financial mathematics”
Evaluate
– “develop their mathematical knowledge, in part through solving
problems and evaluating the outcomes, including multi-step
problems”
GCSE (2015) Specifications should enable students to:
Develop fluency and understanding
– “develop fluent knowledge, skills and
understanding of mathematical methods and
concepts”
Reason and communicate mathematically
– “reason mathematically, make deductions and
inferences and draw conclusions”
– “comprehend, interpret and communicate
mathematical information in a variety of forms
appropriate to the information and context.”
Solve problems
– “acquire, select and apply mathematical
techniques to solve problems”
 GCSE Assessment Objectives
Weighting
2015 Assessment Objectives
Higher Foundation

Develop fluency and understanding

AO1
Use and apply standard techniques

Reason and communicate

AO2 Reason, interpret and communicate
mathematically

Solve problems
AO3 Solve problems within mathematics and 30% 25%
in other contexts
 .. and in the GCSE Assessment Objectives
AO3 Weighting

Formulate
• translate problems in mathematical or non- 30%
mathematical contexts into a process or a series of (Higher)
mathematical processes
Employ
25%
• make and use connections between different parts
of mathematics (Foundation)
Interpret
• interpret results in the context of the given problem
Evaluate
• evaluate methods used and results obtained
• evaluate solutions to identify how they may have
been affected by assumptions made.
 Maths = Disparate skills?
“ ..too much teaching concentrated on the acquisition of
disparate skills that enabled pupils to pass tests and examinations
but did not equip them for the next stage of education, work and
life.
Problem-solving and investigative skills were rarely integral to
learning except in the best schools where they were at the heart
of learning mathematics.”
(Ofsted, May 2012)
“I used to think that if I taught them all the pieces,
they could put them together. Now I know they can’t.”
 PD: Lessons in Mathematical Problem Solving
(LEMAPS)
Lessons are developed
with a specific research Identify
research focus
focus in mind.
For example: Disseminate
Plan research
lesson
• How can we enable students to
plan strategically and monitor
their approaches more
effectively?
Revise Teach
research research
lesson lesson
Analyze
research
lesson
 “Mathematical literacy frequently requires devising strategies
for solving problems mathematically. This involves a set of critical
control processes that guide an individual to effectively recognise,
formulate and solve problems. this skill is characterised as
selecting or devising a plan or strategy to use mathematics to
solve problems arising from a task or context, as well as guiding
its implementation. This mathematical capability can be
demanded at any of the stages of the problem solving process.”

(PISA 2015)
 Outbreak

A disease has started to spread around the

city. If you get the disease you only have
hours to live. Our city has been put under
quarantine; no one in or out.
The good news is you are able to help.
The scientists from the Research and
Development Department have worked flat
out and have managed to put together two
vaccinations. Your task is to recommend:

• Vaccination A is 100% effective and • How many of each vaccine

costs £12.00 per vaccine. should we make?

• Vaccination B is 70% effective and • Who will get those vaccines?

Remember, I want you to be able
costs £5.20 per vaccine.
to explain all your decisions.
We only have a budget of £5,000,000
maximum.
 Outbreak!
Number in
Occupation population

Medical workers (doctors, nurses) 75600

Key service workers (electricity, refuse) 113000

Food shop personnel 113000

Farmers and food producers 85100

Other shop workers 104000

Other professionals.... teachers, lawyers, etc. 123000

Other trades people ... decorators, plumbers, mechanics, etc. 85100

Retired people 86400

Students and school students 94600

Children under 5 66200

Total 946000
Research lesson – lesson plan

a te d
ti c i p e
A n ta b l
u e s
is s

s io n
g re s
Pro
gr i d
 How can we anticipate student responses?

• In a preliminary lesson, the class attempted the task

individually in silence.
• Responses were collected and analyzed according to
the approaches taken.
• Teachers prepared formative feedback questions for
students.
 Issues arising from initial attempts

Calculations before planning

Ignoring constraints.
Not justifying decisions made.
Leaping to conclusions: “Vaccine A is more effective so just use that”
Not understanding concept of a budget
Overwhelmed by large numbers
Not grasping meaning of calculations
Not understanding “effectiveness” of each vaccination:
– “70% effective so 70% must survive”.
Becoming confused between numbers representing money or people
 Anticipated issues table

Key Issue Suggested questions or prompts

Students start • Describe in words a plan for tackling this problem.

detailed • What are the key decisions you have to make?
calculations • Which information are you going to focus on at the start, which will
before planning you ignore?
an approach

Students ignore • Do you have enough resources for your solution?

one or more • Have you made enough vaccine for everyone?
constraints. • Have you wasted any money?
• Have you wasted any vaccine?

Students do not • Why have you chosen to allocate the vaccines in this way?
justify decisions • How can you be sure this is the best solution?
made.

Students leap to • Have you taken all the issues into account?
conclusions • Could you vaccinate more people if you used some of vaccine B?
• Could you save more lives if you used more of vaccine A?
 Strategic planning Monitoring work

Attempts to work towards a solution by carrying out

operations with figures but shows little strategic Carries out own calculations without ever stopping to
Little progress awareness that will lead to a solution
reflect or think about what is being achieved.
Does not stop to consider alternative approaches.

Can you write down a plan for completing the When you have finished this calculation, what will
Questions task? What other pieces of information must you do next?
you consider? How will you organise your work?

Carries out appropriate and correct Considers alternative approaches by comparing own
Some progress calculations but does not take constraints into method with others, but this has no impact on own
account. approach. Pursue an inefficient approach.

Are there other pieces of information you have Look carefully at your partner’s work?
Questions not thought about? What ideas does it contain that will help you?

Substantial Works towards a solution logically reaching a Considers the work of others. Compares this approach
and tries to make use of it. Finds it difficult to
progress viable solution discriminate efficient/ inefficient approaches.

Can you think of an alternative approach to Which of these two ideas is more powerful?
Why is this?
Questions solving this problem? What be the effect on the Which approach would still work if we changed the
outcome?
numbers in the problem?

Task Arrives at a solution having considered Engages thoughtfully with the work of others. Selects
accomplished alternatives. and uses powerful approaches.
See Case Study
 What are the characteristics of effective
professional development?

It is:
 sustained over substantial periods of time
 collaborative within mathematics departments/teams
 informed by outside expertise
 evidence-based/research-informed
 attentive to the development of the mathematics itself.
(RECME, 2009)
 Lesson Study

The project takes a distinctive view of lesson study:

 it should be embedded in a culture of teacher
research/inquiry into professional practice
 it should have the support of mathematics education
expertise, typically found in universities.

The project concerns problem solving in mathematics, that is,

the process of tackling extended, unstructured problems that
require students to model situations with mathematics, make
reasoned assumptions, construct chains of reasoning and
interpret solutions in context.
See Case Study
 Timeline

July
Exploratory phase / December December
2012 Pilot study 2013 R&D 2015

 9 schools
 2 clusters (London and Research: sustainability and scalability
Nottingham)
 3 teachers in each school. Design: lesson study community toolkit
 1 research lesson per term
per school with joint
observations and analysis School level: Classroom
System level:
across schools within their Teacher groups level:
systems and
cluster (27 lessons in total) (working across pedagogies for
structures
schools) problem solving
 Timeline

December December
Year 1 (2014) 2013 R&D 2015
 8-10 clusters of schools
 Approx 3 teachers in each
school
 HE link Research: sustainability and scalability
 1 research lesson per term
per school with joint
Design: lesson study toolkit
observations and analysis
across schools
 1 workshop per term
System level: School level: Classroom
Year 2 (2014) systems and Teacher groups level:
 Additional 4 clusters of structures (working across pedagogies for
schools) problem solving
schools (approx)
 Challenges

• Understanding of problem solving

• Developing collaborative lesson study groups in a climate

of competition between schools

• Ensuring the involvement of outside expertise

• Supporting lesson study group “leaders”

• Planning for sustainability

• Potential rapid growth

 For further details go to
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/
research/crme/index.aspx

To join the mailing list, contact

Geoffrey.wake@nottingham.ac.uk